The Traditions of Cultivation of Flax and Linen Weaving in Lithuania
Linen is a cloth used for every kind of functions, principally clothes and ornament, that's appreciated for its sturdiness, naturalness and freshness. Linen is manufactured from the fibres of the flax plant which is grown all through the entire world - from Canada to Ethiopia. Flax has been cultivated because the instances of historical Egypt and historical Ethiopia, whereas the most recent findings of dyed flax fibres date to 30000 BC.
In Lithuania, a small nation in Northern Europe with a really wealthy historical past, linen has a particular place within the nation's traditions, arts and crafts. Flax has been grown right here because the instances of the Baltic tribes that have been dwelling within the fashionable nation's territory from round 2000 BC. Within the Medieval instances, when the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was one of many largest nations in Europe, linen was in all probability the one cloth used for clothes by the peasants and the soldiers (apart from the armour, after all). Even within the early 20th century, when the supply of different materials was a lot better, flax and linen had a significant half in Lithuania's exports. The importance of linen in Lithuania has diminished ever since, but there are nonetheless some people artists within the nation who weave linen and hold the traditions alive.
The significance of linen to a Lithuanian might be clearly seen within the people songs - one of many best and most important components of the Lithuanian heritage. As much as the mid-20th century, individuals had sung songs whenever, together with the seeding and chopping of flax and weaving of linen. Linen additionally seems in different people songs, reminiscent of those about battle or marriage, and is used as a logo of prosperity and well-being.
Aside from the folks songs, Lithuanians even have an annual celebration, commemorating the significance of flax and linen. "Flax is likely one of the oldest cultures cultivated in Lithuania, and it's unjustly forgotten. Even our ancestors knew in regards to the miraculous therapeutic qualities of linen. Linen had an important half within the formation of the Lithuanian perspective of thoughts." - says Zenonas Macernis, one of many organisers of the Pageant of Flax, celebrated yearly within the village of Budraiciai. On this competition, artisans and craftsmen who work with linen come from all components of Lithuania to share their expertise and promote their hand-made garments, toys, tablecloths, towels and other forms of things. No conventional competition in Lithuania is widely known with out songs and dances, so quite a lot of people ensembles come right here as properly.
In each a part of Lithuania, the traditions of seeding and chopping the linen have been totally different. The best similarity of traditions from totally different areas is that the chopping of flax was often a piece executed by girls. Unsurprisingly, quite a lot of songs have been sung throughout the course of, and a few of these songs even survived till our days. A few of the extra attention-grabbing traditions come from Zemaitija, the North-Western area of Lithuania. For instance, when the chopping of flax was over, the cutters at all times waited for a rabbit to return out of the sphere. Generally, the extra shifty cutters managed to catch the rabbit, thus incomes the household a scrumptious dinner. There have been quite a lot of beliefs of how and when to seed the flax to get the most effective outcomes. For instance, within the village of Dadotkai, flax was seeded ultimately of Could, however solely when the junipers are dusty, when the Moon is in its gibbous form and when the wind blows from the South. Numerous circumstances, is not it?
When the flax is ready to be made into linen, as soon as once more it is as much as the Lithuanian girls to do all of the work. From the traditional instances, the person of the home had to have the ability to are likely to the horses and different animals and supervise the cultivation of crops, whereas the girl needed to have cooking, weaving and spinning expertise. There was a spinning wheel in each home, and within the evenings the linen was made into garments, towels and different on a regular basis gadgets. At the moment, linen was essentially the most outstanding cloth used for garments by everybody dwelling within the countryside. It was utterly pure and made domestically - individuals wore garments comprised of linen grown in their very own fields.
These days, linen garments affiliate with individuals having holidays within the French Riviera and never with a easy farmer dwelling within the countryside. This transition occurred a while within the 20th century, when the provision of different cheaper materials elevated considerably and the cultivation of flax turned a lot much less worthwhile than earlier than. Luckily, there are nonetheless some individuals who domesticate flax and produce hand-made linen gadgets, however their quantity has decreased dramatically through the years.
"We're very fortunate that the traditions of constructing utterly pure, hand-made linen garments and different gadgets are nonetheless alive. There are quite a lot of factories that manufacture linen garments, however the principle factor that they're missing is high quality. If an artisan is aware of his job properly and if the traditions are handed from one era to the opposite, no mass-produced linen garments have the identical high quality, freshness and feeling of naturality as when the gadgets are hand-made." - says Jurate Stanisauskiene, proprietor of the one children-oriented Lithuanian linen webshop LinenKids.com.
Generally, the traditions of cultivating flax and making linen garments have been near extinction in Lithuania, however these days there are increasingly individuals who bear in mind their heritage and resolve to maintain the traditions alive. The demand of pure hand-made linen garments is rising, so happily this commerce nonetheless has a future. Saving this craft is essential to Lithuanian heritage, as along with the linen making itself, it additionally carries quite a lot of different traditions, reminiscent of songs, dances, festivals and the Lithuanian perspective of thoughts.
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